Ivy
by tastes-like-ciel
Summary: “There is an ancient prophecy that tells of a child that will have the power to bring about the Apocalypse and when the world needs the child most, the young one will forsake it. This is the year the world is said to end.” HIATUS
1. The Dreaming

Title: Ivy

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Rated for use of some cuss words and graphic details.

Summary: "There is an ancient prophecy that tells of a child that will have the power to bring about the Apocalypse and when the world needs the child most, the young one will forsake it. This is the year the world is said to end."

Serena: I felt like writing a mystery story that is scary...and here it is. Danny, will you do the disclaimer please?

Danny: Sure. Serena does not own Danny Phantom or anything related to it. She does own the plot to this story, all OCs, and anything else she may have made up.

Serena: Thank you, Danny. Here's the key!

"..." Talking

'...' Thinking in _Italics_

Tucker: Read the fic now!

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Title: Ivy

Chapter 1: The Dreaming

By: Serena

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_Crystal blue eyes stared up at two teenagers who were standing in front of a door leading into a creepy old house. The crystal blue eyes belonged to little five year-old Danny Fenton. His hair was black and he wore a white shirt with blue shorts and white shoes all the while carrying a little bunny plushie that had violet eyes. The two teenagers were around the age of sixteen. One was a girl that had long chestnut-colored hair with emerald eyes and she was wearing a white tank top with light pink bellbottoms and white sneakers. The other was a boy that had blonde hair with sky blue eyes and he was wearing a light blue shirt with khaki shorts and sandals. It was starting to get dark outside as the sun was slowly setting. The two teens opened the front door of the house and entered. Danny followed close behind them. Once they were all inside, the male teen shut the door and looked around the room they were in. The room was dark but you could still see as the sun's light was shining through a lone window. There wasn't much in the room. There was just four steps in front of them leading up to the other side of the room that had two doors. There was also two candles on either side of the steps, but they weren't lit. The female teen looked at the other teen with a little worry on her face._

"_John, I don't know about this." she said quietly. _

_John looked at her with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mary." John said. "We won't get in trouble or anything."_

"_It's not that, it's just...I don't think we should have brought Danny with us." Mary said. "What if he wanders off and gets lost? Mr. and Mrs. Fenton would kill me if they found out that I lost their son!"_

_John still didn't looked worried. "Already solved that problem. He can just wait here at the entrance, we'll take a quick look around, and then we'll come back and take Danny back home before his parent's get home and find out."_

_Mary still looked worried, but she nodded her head in agreement with John's idea. She turned around and knelt down in front of Danny. She smiled at him._

"_Danny, me and my friend are just going to take a quick look around and I want you to stay here. Okay?"_

_Danny looked at her and, despite the fear that was creeping along his spine, he nodded his head yes._

"_Otay, 'Ary." he answered._

_Mary smiled and ruffled his hair before standing up and following John further into the house. Danny watched them leave as he sat down in front of the door to wait. He sat there and waited and waited and waited for the longest time, but Mary and John didn't come back. It had gotten really dark since the too teens had left. Danny fell asleep sometime during the wait._

_----_

Fourteen year-old Danny Fenton opened his eyes slowly. At first, he didn't know where he was but soon realized that he was in his room. He sat up and looked at his clock. It read 7:35 a.m. He sighed. He needed to get ready before he was late. He thought back to his dream...that's what is was, right?

'_Was that a dream? It seemed so real. No...no, it wasn't real...it couldn't have been. I didn't even know those people or that place. It was just some weird dream that I'll never have again.'_

Even as Danny got up to get ready for another boring 'sure-to-filled-with-ghost-hunting-and-being-hunted-by-ghosts-and/or-ghost-hunters' day, he couldn't stop thinking about the dream. It was just that it had seemed so real and...familiar? That place and those people seemed strangely familiar...but that was impossible. He had never seen that house or those people before in his life. Right? Now that he thought more about it, the teen in his dream named 'Mary' reminded him of someone...but who?

----

Clockwork stared at a time portal, which was showing events occurring within the time stream, with concern on his face. He didn't like what he was seeing. He's seen many things that he didn't like, but this...this was the worst of them all. He continued to watch the portal as something else was shown on it that made him look away. No...he couldn't let this happen. It was far too horrible for him to just let happen. Two ghosts that each had a green eye for a head came floating in.

"This cannot happen!" the first one, Observer 1 said.

"It will mean disaster for us all!" Observer 2 said.

"I know." Clockwork said sighing. "It has to be stopped, but we may not be able to prevent it. One is already loose and has been for years, but the door hasn't been opened yet. The seal is still there, but it might not be for long."

"That creature cannot be loose! It will find the one with the Sight and when it does, our world is over!" Observer 1 said.

"Something must be done!" Observer 2 said.

"Everyone, both ghost and human, are in danger!" Observer 1 said.

"Everything will be destroyed if something isn't done!" Observer 2 said.

"I know." Clockwork said irritably. He always got really annoyed when the Observants pointed out the obvious over and over again. I mean, really, didn't they think he got the damn point?

"Then what can we do!" both Observants asked at the same time.

"_You two_ can do what you're both supposed to do and _observe_. You're both _Observants._ You both _observe_. _I_ will handle this." he answered. "Now, go back to your duties. I have to go visit a few old friends."

----

Danny stared off into space as his teacher, Mr. Lancer, gave one of his many 'very-interesting' lectures.

'_Can't he ever talk about something interesting?'_ Danny thought. _'When watching paint dry is more interesting than what you're saying, it's time to shut up!'_

Danny's eyes were feeling very heavy. He was so tired. He hadn't been able to get much sleep last night. Apparently, Skulker thought it would have been hilarious to trap Danny inside a bubble that he couldn't phase or break out of and take him to Vlad the long way! And of course by 'long way', I mean Skulker went all the way to Wisconsin and 'suddenly' decided that he wanted to go to Vlad's through the Ghost Zone! So, Skulker went all the way back to Danny's house, went through the Fenton Portal, took his sweet time finding the opening to Vlad's portal, and then went in only to piss off Danny even more by informing him that Vlad wasn't there right now and that not only did he not know when Vlad would be coming back, but that Vlad had never asked Skulker to capture Danny. Danny had then preceded to cuss Skulker out for three and a half hours straight using words both he and Skulker never knew that he knew. In other words, it had been a rough night. He could just fall asleep right here and now.

'_I'm so tired.'_ he thought while his eyes slowly closed. Then, without knowing it, he fell asleep.

----

_Danny opened his eyes and stared across the room. It was really dark and still there was no sign of Mary or John. He was becoming really worried while wondering why they hadn't come back yet. He hugged his little bunny plushie and buried his face into it's stomach. He was scared...and he wasn't sure why. There was just something about this house that was scaring him. He stayed that way until he heard a sound. It sounded like someone was crying...and the crying wasn't very far away. It sounded like it was coming from one of the other rooms. Curiosity got the better of the little five year-old as he stood up and followed the sound of the crying voice. He walked up the four steps and walked to the other side of the room where the two doors were, not even noticing that the two candles were now lit. The crying was coming from the second door...the one that Mary and John had taken. He opened the door and found that it lead to a hallway, where the crying voice was a bit louder now that he was getting closer to it. He walked down the hallway which lead to another door and opened it. The crying voice was louder now and it's source was sitting on its knees and holding its face in its hands facing away from Danny in the middle of the room. It was a woman. She had long, wavy black hair and she was wearing a long white dress with white dress shoes. Her skin was about the same color as Danny's except that it was pale and her whole body had a strange white aura around it. Danny looked at her with concern. He didn't know who she was, but he felt sorry for her. He quietly walked over to her and tapped her shoulder which was surprisingly cold._

"_Wady, why are you cwying?" he asked her._

_The woman abruptly stopped crying while lowering her hands to the ground and turned around to see who had addressed her. Upon seeing Danny, she stared at him with wide eyes which Danny noted were a deep green color._

"_You can...you can see me?" she asked him._

_Danny thought it was a strange question for her to ask, but answered anyway._

"_Uh-huh. I can see you." he answered._

_She continued to stare at him for a few more minutes; like she was observing him. Then, she lifted her left hand off the ground and took his right wrist as if to feel for a pulse. After a minute, she let go._

"_You're alive and it's not your time to die yet, but you can still see me." she stated. _

_Danny looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about? He didn't dwell on that thought for long as he remembered that she hadn't told him why she had been crying._

"_Wady?" he asked. "Why were you cwing? Did you wose something? Or get huwt?"_

_She looked at him as a smile formed on her face. He was so young and he couldn't help her, but she could tell that he wanted to._

"_No, I'm not hurt and I didn't lose anything. I'm just lonely. By the way, what's your name and how old are you? You seem a little young to be out at this time of night."_

"_I name is Danny and I this 'any." he said as he held up four fingers to tell her how old he was._

"_Really? You're that many?" she said amused by his way of age telling. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Danny. My name is Ivy and I'm afraid I don't have enough fingers to tell my age."_

"_I wike your name, Ivy." Danny said._

"_I like yours, too."_

"_Ivy?" Danny asked. "I wooking for I babysitter and her fwiend. Her name is 'Ary and her fwiend's name is John. Have you seen them?"_

_Ivy frowned. "Yes, but they're not here."_

"_Where'd they go?"_

_Ivy smiled. "Nowhere important. Do you miss your mommy and daddy?"_

_Danny nodded his head yes._

_Ivy continued smiling as she scooped Danny up in her arms and stood up. "Then, I'll take you home."_

_She seemed to glide as she walked. Danny liked her. She was nice._

_----_

"Mr. Fenton!"

Danny awoke with a start. He had to look around for a minute to figure out where he was, but then he remembered that he was in school. He looked at Mr. Lancer, his teacher and the one who had addressed him. Lancer glared at Danny.

"Asleep again, Mr. Fenton? This is the eighth time this week!"

The bell rang and all the students, except for Danny, left to go to their next class. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam mouth the words, "We'll be waiting for you outside." Before she left. Danny looked at Lancer who was less than happy with him.

"Mr. Fenton, I should just give you another detention, but I feel that this is something that your parents should know about."

Danny stared at Lancer and was about to say something when he saw someone standing behind his out-of-shape teacher. It was a woman and she looked just like the woman in his dream. She was staring at Danny with her deep green eyes that seemed to call out to him. She held out her left hand toward him and started speaking to him...only no words came out. Danny just stood there staring into her eyes. Completely forgetting everything and everyone around him.

"Danny?" Mr. Lancer asked curiously. He noticed that Danny had been staring at something behind him for a few minutes and turned around to see what he was looking at. He saw nothing. He turned back to face Danny, who was still staring at the same spot.

"Danny, stop ignoring me. That won't work." he said seriously.

When he got no response from Danny, he started to get a little worried.

"Danny? What are you staring at?"

Still no response.

"Danny?"

Still nothing.

"Danny!" Lancer said raising his voice.

Nothing and after a few seconds had passed, Danny's eyes became half-lidded until they closed completely and he fell to the floor unconscious.

"DANNY!"

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Serena: Well, what'd you guys think? Any good? Hope someone read and liked this. Please review and you'll get another chapter:)


	2. The Visions

Serena: 0.0 Wow. People actually read this! ...and seemed interested in it! Cool! X3 Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Wow...10 reviews already and this is just the first chapter. I didn't think anyone would read this. Anyway, I'd better get the disclaimer out of the way...that and the key. (Ahem) Dan-

Disclaimer Person: (is wearing headphones and is talking into a microphone while reading a sheet of paper) Serena does not own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman owns Danny Phantom and that will always be true. She does own the plot, OCs, and all the made up stuff in here. And now, back to the authoress.

Serena: o.0 Why are you following me? Stop following me! And I wanted Danny to do the disclaimer, not you! You ruined the disclaimer!

Disclaimer Person: I ruined nothing. And now, let's go to the Ghost Lawyer with the key!

Serena: What! No! I was gonna get Danny to do that too!

Ghost Lawyer: Thank you, Disclaimer Person. And now here's the key!

"..." Talking

'...' Thinking in _Italics_

Disclaimer Person: And now, let's go to the fic! Here you go, readers!

Serena: No! T-T Get out of my fic! Stop following me!

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Title: Ivy

Chapter 2: The Visions

By: Serena

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Urrrrriiiiiiiii.

Danny awoke to a strange, loud noise. He opened his eyes and pulled himself into a sitting position. He stared at his dark surroundings. He was in an old looking room. The walls and floor were covered with streaks of a dark red color. The lights were broken and the only window in the room was boarded up, but there was some light coming in from the partly opened door to the room he was in, so he was able to see everything. He looked down to find that he was in a bed whose sheets were stained a dark red color...just like everything else in the room. He quickly jumped out of the bed, but instantly regretted it as he slipped on something wet and fell to the floor.

"Ouch. Huh? What's this?"

He lifted his left hand up as dark, red liquid oozed down his arm. He gasped and scrambled off the floor only to look down at himself and find that the dark red liquid was all over him. He breathed in ragged breaths of air and tried to calm himself. He glanced back at the floor to find the bed surrounded by the liquid. It seemed to be seeping from underneath the bed. Danny backed away from the bed slowly. He didn't know what was under there and he wasn't about to stick around and find out. He kept backing up until he backed into the partly opened door and closed it by accident. He turned around and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. He started to panic. He was stuck in a room with possibly something dead under the bed, he didn't know where he or anyone else was, and he was scared. He tried to open the door again but stopped when he heard a sound. It was the same sound that woke him up.

Urrrrriiiiiiiii.

It sounded like a siren going off. He wasn't sure why a siren was going off, but he quickly stopped caring once he heard another sound. It was a gurgling sound. Kinda like the sound you make when you gurgle water only this was followed by gasping. It was coming from under the bed. Danny could only stare in horror as he watched a bloody female figure dragged herself out from under the bed. Danny sank to the floor shivering with fright. It was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. The female figure had blood gushing out from her mouth...hence the gurgling and gasping sound. She was wearing a white nurse's outfit streaked with blood. Her short blonde hair was drenched red and blood was gushing out from the place her left arm was supposed to be. The female figure gasped and choked on the blood flowing out her mouth. Then, she turned her head in Danny's direction. Danny suppressed the urge to scream. Her eyes were nothing but bloody hollows. She hissed a choked hiss and started dragging herself toward him. He didn't understand how, but Danny somehow knew that she could see him. He backed up as far as he could to the door. The female monstrosity kept dragging herself toward him. She let out a noise like that of a dying crow. She got closer and closer and closer until Danny finally closed his eyes and screamed for all he was worth.

-----

"Danny, wake up!" a female voice said.

Danny's eyes flew open and he took deep ragged breathes while shivering all over. He looked around for the source of the voice to discover his red-headed mother, Maddie, leaning over him with a scared/concerned look on her face.

"M-Mom?" Danny said weakly.

"Oh, sweetie, thank goodness you're awake!" Maddie said taking a sigh of relief. "I was so scared when Mr. Lancer called from the hospital and told us you had fainted in his classroom. I rushed over as soon as I could and have been here ever since. Are you all right? You're shivering. I hope you don't have a fever."

"Hospital? Fainted?" Danny repeated as Maddie put a hand to his forehead to check for any signs of a fever. "W-What about the w-woman? The room a-and the sirens?"

Maddie looked at her son in concern as she removed her hand after not finding any signs of a fever.

"Sweetie, you were having a nightmare." she said. "You woke up screaming, remember?"

Danny looked away from her as he noted that he was still in his regular clothes. He didn't understand. That was way to real to be a dream, but his mother said that he had been dreaming and she did say that she had been here the whole time. Danny sighed as he looked across the room.

'_Maybe I'm losing it.'_ he thought.

He was about to ask his mother where everyone else was, but stopped as the door to his strangely familiar room opened. A woman wearing a white nurse's outfit and a white nurse's hat walked in with a blue binder filled with papers. She looked about the age of 28. Danny stared at her with his mouth open. She had short, blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. She was very pretty, but that wasn't why he was staring at her.

'_That...that woman...'_

Danny started breathing heavily again as he started to panic. She was the woman from his dream...only not disfigured.

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton." she said smiling. " I just came to check on your son. I see that he's awake now. I'm glad."

Maddie smiled back. "Hello, Miss Laci and, yes, I'm glad he's awake, too."

Miss Laci set her blue binder down on a table beside the chair Maddie was sitting in and walked over to Danny.

"Okay, little guy, I need to check that bruise on your head." she said sweetly as she reached her arms out toward the bandage around Danny's head, which he just now noticed was there.

Danny scooted away from her with a scared look on his face. Miss Laci blinked.

"What's the matter, little guy?" she asked. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."

Danny continued to scoot away from her until he reached the edge of the bed. He stared at her confused face as her form flickered back and forth between her current form and the female monstrosity he had seen in his 'dream.' It seemed that Danny was the only one to notice this, however.

"Danny, what's wrong?" his mother asked him.

He ignored her as he slowly got out of the bed and backed up against the wall. The nurse and his mother continued to stare at Danny with confusion written all over their faces.

"Hey, you need to get back in bed." the nurse said.

"Danny, listen to Miss Laci and get back in bed." his mother said as she stood up from the chair she was sitting in.

Danny quietly slipped his shoes on, which the two females in the room never noticed he did, and started edging away from the bed and toward the door.

"Danny, where are you going?" his mother asked as she started walking toward him.

"You need to lie back down." the nurse said as she also started walking toward Danny.

Danny kept backing toward the door and it wasn't until the nurse started walking toward him faster did he break out in a run.

"Danny!" his mother shouted out after him.

"Stop!" the nurse shouted out after him as both she and Maddie began to run after Danny.

He ran down the hallway as doctors and nurses watched him run with confusion and it wasn't until Miss Laci shouted out that he was a patient and needed care, did anyone try to capture him. During his run to escape the hospital, Danny ran into fives empty stretchers, 2 empty wheelchairs, 1 wheelchair with an old guy in it who assumed it was some new thing kids were doing so he ran over a group of doctors that were chasing Danny with his wheelchair while saying "I'm hip!", and a bunch of other things and people that Danny lost track of. He managed to make it to the front of the hospital and almost made it outside when a large male figure wearing a day-glow orange Hasmat suit blocked his path. It was his dad, Jack.

"Danny!" Jack said smiling at his son while completely excusing the fact that Danny should have been in a hospital bed and _not_ at the front of the hospital. "You're awake!"

Jack tried to give his son a hug, but Danny backed away from him all the while shaking and looking very scared. Jack blinked.

"Danny, is something the matter?" Jack asked frowning.

"Danny!" a female voice shouted.

Both Jack and Danny turned to see the owner of the voice, Maddie, standing beside a panting Miss Laci.

"Was...(gasp)...all that...(gasp)...running really...(gasp)...necessary?" Miss Laci asked while catching her breath.

Jack gave Maddie a questioning look. Maddie sighed.

"To make a long story short, there's something wrong with Danny and he needs to get back in his hospital room." she told him as she turned to look at Danny.

Maddie started walking slowly toward Danny, but he just backed away from her and Jack.

"Sweetie, it's alright." Maddie told him. "No one's going to hurt you. We just want to take you back to your room so the nice nurse can help you."

"Yeah, Danny, we just want to help." Jack said as he too began walking slowly toward his son.

Danny backed up against the wall as he shook his head and closed his eyes to try and clear away what he was seeing. He opened them again only to see what he had been seeing before. Just like Miss Laci, his mother's and father's forms were flickering between the way they were now and horribly disfigured forms. Not only that, but the hospital flickered between old and new as well. His father's disfigured form had a large, pipe-sized hole going all the way through his forehead. His right eye was hanging out of its socket and his right hand was missing all of its fingers. The front of his Hasmat suit along with the flesh around the rib cage was gone and some of his organs were hanging out. His mother's disfigured form had the flesh on both sides of her mouth peeled back so all her teeth were visible. She was missing her left foot and left hand and, also, her throat was slit. Both of them were gushing out a never ending flow of blood from every wound they had. Danny's parents were getting closer and closer to him. He was so scared that he was having a hard time breathing and his heart nearly stopped when his father grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Danny, are you alright?" his father asked him.

"We should hurry and get a doctor." Maddie said worriedly.

"I'll go get the doctor." Miss Laci said as she ran off to get a doctor.

"Come on, Jack, we need to take Danny back to his room." Maddie said while walking over to her husband and son.

The sight of his father, mother, and the hurriedly approaching Miss Laci with a doctor trailing behind her was too much for Danny.

"Get away from me!" he shouted as he pushed his father with enough force for him to let go and ran out the sliding glass doors of the hospital entrance.

"Danny!" his parents shouted after him.

"Stop!" Miss Laci shouted.

" Come back!" the doctor behind her shouted.

But Danny didn't stop and he had no intention of going back. He just kept running as more flickering, morbid forms of people, animals, and old buildings filled his sight.

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Serena: Chapter 2 is done! So, how'd you guys like it? Was it scary? Was it any good at all? I hope so...because that is totally what I was aiming for! Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought and I'll give you guys another chapter!


	3. Ivy's Gift

Serena: Yay! I got what every good authoress needs: Reviews:) Thank you for all of your reviews. They really help me to keep writing. Okay, now that the thank you's are done...uh...heh, heh...(looks around and then whispers) Danny, are _they _anywhere close enough to hear me?

Danny: (looks around) I don't see _them_. I don't think _they're_ here. What's the big deal anyway? How bad can _they_ be?

Serena: Horrible, Danny, horrible. But I don't see _them_...so _they_ must have left. Anyway, please do the...uh...you-know-what, Danny.

Danny: Okay. Serena does not own Danny Phantom, but she does own the plot to this story, all OCs plus anything else she may have made up. And...here's the key!

"..." Talking

'...' Thinking in _Italics_

Serena: Good, they didn't show. Thank you for doing the disclaimer and key for me, Danny!

Voice: Did somebody say disclaimer!

Serena: O.O No! Not again! But wait! Haha! Danny already said it which means you can't say it! HA!

Disclaimer Person: Actually, since it's my job to do them, I'm going to do it again!

Serena: O.O SECURITY!

Disclaimer Person: (is dragged away by ghost guards) I'll be back!

Serena: (smiles) Sure you will.

Danny: 0.o um...you have a Ghost Security now?

Serena: Yup! - I struck a deal with Walker and Ember and now...I have a Ghost Security.

Danny: (confused) Walker and...Ember? No, wait, nevermind. I don't think I want to know.

Serena: kay. You can all read the next chapter now!

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Title: Ivy

Chapter 3: Ivy's Gift

By: Serena

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It had been hours since Maddie had last seen her son. She, her husband, her daughter, and her son's friends along with police officials had all been searching for Danny for nearly four and a half hours, but they still couldn't find him. Maddie was currently sitting at home in front of the phone. She was hoping that someone would call and say, "Hey, we found your son."...but no such luck. She hoped that Danny might try to call, but she knew that he probably wouldn't. He had seemed so afraid of everyone and everything around him and she didn't know why. Maddie sighed deeply. This was very similar to when her daughter, Jazz, ran away. Of course, that was only for a few hours and Jazz had called to let them know where she was and that she was alright. It had turned out that Jazz had gone to Vlad Masters' castle in Wisconsin. As soon as she thought about Vlad, a small ray of hope shone in her hopeless heart. It might be possible that Danny was with Vlad or perhaps if he wasn't now, he might be later. Maddie picked up the phone and quickly dialed Vlad's phone number. She waited until someone answered the phone.

"Hello?" a male voice, who Maddie instantly knew was Vlad, said.

"Vlad? This is Maddie." she said.

There was a pause at the other end, but it ended quickly as Vlad replied in a noticeably happier voice: "Maddie, my dear, so nice to hear from you!"

"Yes, it's nice to hear you too, Vlad, but I have to ask you something." Maddie said urgently. "It's very important. Something happened."

Vlad's voice changed to one of concern as he asked her: "My dear, you may ask me whatever you want. What is it? What happened?"

Maddie took a deep breath to calm herself as she retold what had happened. Starting first with the phone call from Mr. Lancer to the whole hospital incident. By the time she was finished, she was crying.

"...a-and I don't know where he is o-or if h-he's okay and I w-wanted to know I-if you had seen h-him a-and...oh, Vlad! I'm so worried about him!" she wailed.

"Maddie, calm down. It'll be okay." Vlad said reassuringly, although he wasn't sure how 'okay' it would be. "I'm sure he's just fine. Who knows? He could be on his way home right now!"

Maddie sniffled as she wiped away her tears. Vlad had a point. Danny was probably on his way home and even though her motherly instinct was telling her otherwise, she couldn't help but cling to the hope that her son was coming back. She smiled.

"You're right. He must be on his way home now." she said a bit more cheerfully.

"Of course he is, my dear." he said delighted that he could cheer Maddie up. "I'll even keep an eye out for him just incase he does show up here."

"Really? Oh, thank you, Vlad! That means a lot to me!" she said happily. "Talking to you has really helped me, but I should probably go. Who knows? Someone might call saying they found Danny and they won't be able to let me know if I'm on the phone."

Vlad frowned a little after hearing Maddie say that. He really enjoyed hearing her beautiful voice. "I understand. I need to go anyway."

"Thanks again, Vlad. Bye!"

"Good-bye, dear."

They both hung up their phones.

With Maddie

Maddie sighed happily as she smiled. That talk with Vlad had really helped her to calm down. She leaned back in her chair as she looked at the front door and then back at the phone. She was sure that soon Danny would be back home and safe in her arms.

With Vlad

Vlad sighed disappointedly as he frowned. He was glad that he made Maddie happy, but he was troubled with what Maddie had told him. She said that she couldn't figure out why Danny freaked out like that and, well, neither could he. He walked over to a large window that was beside the table that the phone was resting on and looked out it. There was really only one way to find out what had happened at that hospital.

"Well, Daniel," he said as he transformed into Plasmius. "you are the only one that can answer this question."

----

7:00 p.m. Somewhere in a forest outside Amity Park.

Danny had his hands on his knees, panting. He had been running and hiding for nearly four and a half hours...not that he knew how long he had been running and hiding, but if he had been wearing a watch, he would have known. It hadn't been easy getting away from that hospital and it had been even harder getting out of Amity Park. Mutilated policemen and policewomen had been after him. His deformed parents and sister had chased him. Doctors, nurses... hell, he even ran into horrifying flickering versions of his best friends, Sam and Tucker. It had been quite an experience, but he had managed to sneak his way out of Amity Park and into a forest about a mile out of town. Needless to say, he was extremely tired and equally scared. He leaned against a tree to catch his breath and, eventually, slide down into a sitting position. He let his eyes close for a few minutes until he had caught his breath and opened them again only to realize that he wasn't sitting under that tree alone. He jumped and his body stiffened as he felt two hands place themselves on his shoulders and he quickly crawled away from the tree when he heard a female voice whisper his name. His eyes widened as he saw a shadowy figure rise from behind the tree and walk toward him. He backed up into another tree as the creature came closer and closer to him. He closed his eyes and waited for it to attack him, but the attack never came. He heard leaves rustle as something sat down next to him. He opened his eyes and looked to his left to see a woman sitting beside him with her hands folded in her lap. He stared into her dark green eyes a she stared into his crystal blue ones. Her form was now visible as moonlight was shining down on them both. It was the woman from his dreams. The same woman that was in Mr. Lancer's classroom before he fainted. It was weird. He didn't feel afraid of her.

"Hi." she said suddenly.

Danny blinked.

"Hi." he said back to her.

"You remember me?" she asked as she put a hand on his head and petted him.

Strangely, Danny let her.

"Um...it's Ivy, isn't it?" he asked her as he remembered what her name had been in his dreams.

She smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, that's it."–she stopped petting him and brought her hand back in her lap– "It's good to see that you remember me."–she played with something in her lap–"I have something for you."

Danny blinked again.

"You do?" he asked curiously.

She just nodded her head and held up what she had been playing with. It was a necklace. It had a black strap with a strange green gem cut in the shape of a circle with two dashes running through the middle of the left and right sides of the circle, two dashes on the bottom of the circle, and another dash in the middle on the top of the circle with a dot in the center of the circle in the center of the necklace. Ivy placed the necklace, which fit like a choker, around Danny's neck. She looked at him and smiled.

"Do you like it?" she asked. "It suits you."

"Uh...yeah...I guess. Thank you." he replied. "But why are you giving me this? Why were you at my school? And why am I dreaming about you?"

Ivy giggled. "So many questions, but so little time to answer them all fully. To answer the first question, I gave you that necklace to help with your visions."

Danny blinked. _'She knows about those?'_

"You know about those? Well, do you know how to get rid of them? Or why I even have them in the first place?"

Ivy wagged her finger at him. "Sorry, but I don't have time to answer those questions or the other two you asked me." –she stood up–"Come."–she reached down and grabbed his hand to help him up–"Someone will be here soon to get you."

Danny just stared at her in confusion as she lead him by the hand to the edge of the forest. Once there, Ivy gave him a little push out of the forest. Danny turned to look at her.

"Aren't you coming?" Danny asked.

Ivy shook her head. "I can't. Even if I did, no one but you would know that I was there."–she looked up at the sky–"I have to go, but if you want to talk to me again, just say my name and I'll be there."

Ivy turned to leave but stopped as she reached for something in her dress.

"I almost forgot. I have something else for you."–she handed him a book that had the same symbol as his necklace on the cover–"This should answer any questions you have. Don't let anyone besides you see or read it."–she ran off into the woods–"Good-bye!"

"W-Wait!" Danny called after her. "Come back!"

But Ivy was gone. Danny sighed.

"Can this day get any weirder?" he didn't expect an answer as a blue wisp of smoke came from his mouth followed by a very familiar voice.

"Believe me, child, it can and probably will."

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Serena: Okay, Chapter 3 is done! Augh. I feel like this chapter didn't go anywhere...oh, well, this chapter needed to be like this anyway , but I probably could have made it a bit more exciting. Anyway, please review and you'll all get another chapter!


	4. The Book from the Otherworld

Serena: Wow, I got more reviews:) Yay! Thank you for reviewing everybody! Guessy whats, everyone? This chapter will give you answers! Oh and I've decided that whenever one of my chapters has gore in it, I'll put at the top in big bold letters "**GORE ALERT!**" X3 And now, Danny, will you do the disclaimer please?

Danny: Sure. Serena does not own Danny Phantom. She does own the plot to this story, all of the OCs, and everything she might have made up.

Serena: Thank you, Danny. :) Now, I'll do the key. Here's the key!

"..." Talking

'...' Thinking in _Italics_

Danny: You can read the fic now!

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Title: Ivy

Chapter 4: The Book from the Otherworld

By: Serena

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Danny froze at the sound of the very familiar voice.

'_Damn.'_ he thought. _'What is he doing here?'_

He slowly turned around to see none other than Vlad Plasmius standing, well floating, behind him in all his pissed off glory. Danny sighed.

'_First the weird dreams, then the freaky visions, then that lady not giving me any answers and instead giving me a choker and a book, and now here's Vlad looking like someone stuck a broom stick up his butt and now he's looking for some poor random person to take his anger out on. Does God hate me or something?'_

Danny frowned as he clutched Ivy's book subconsciously to his chest and stared at Vlad.

'_Maybe if I stare at him long enough, he'll leave.'_

Danny doubted that it would work, but the hell if he cared. He did something similar once with a shapeshifting friend of his named Serena while Tucker had been sleeping. Danny was going to wake him up, but Serena came up with this funny idea that if they just sat there and stared at Tucker for a while, he would wake up. So that's what they did and when Tucker woke up a few minutes later, they both started laughing because it had worked...and they knew it had worked because Tucker mentioned something about eyes staring at him in his sleep. Vlad looked at Danny with a look that seemed to be a cross between anger and concern. Vlad noticed the choker and book with the strange symbols. For some reason, he felt as if he'd seen them before.

"Well, you're a little far from home." Vlad said staring down at Danny. "I suppose you aren't going to tell me as to why that is, are you?"

Danny didn't say anything.

"I'll take that as a yes." Vlad said. "Luckily, you don't have to tell me for your dear mother already has, although, she couldn't say exactly why you ran off the way you did. Care to explain?"

Danny still didn't say anything, but started to get a little nervous.

"I'll take that as a no."–Vlad floated a little closer–"Your mother was very upset that you ran off. She called me to see if I had seen you and, of course, I hadn't seen you at all...well, not since last night anyway."

Danny took a step back. He was currently contemplating whether he should run away from Vlad or whack him on the head with Ivy's book. Of course, there was a problem with both ideas. One, Vlad could fly so if Danny ran, Vlad would just catch him. And two, Vlad was a ghost, so he could phase through stuff and if Danny tried to whack him with Ivy's book, Vlad would beat the crap out of him...but what the hell. Danny ran. He thought about running back into the forest, but didn't. Vlad, who had expected this, flew after Danny and caught him. He lifted the child up by the back of his shirt.

"Daniel, the only reason I even bothered to come looking for you was because of how upset your mother was and because I was curious as to why you ran off. Now, just answer my question and-OW!"

Vlad dropped Danny, who had started running again. Why did he drop him? Because the child had hit him over the head with that book he was carrying. Vlad growled.

"Why you little brat!" Vlad said as his hands formed fists and started glowing pink. "Screw how upset your mother was and screw the question I wanted answered! I'm going to-AHHH!"

Vlad got hit with a green blast. He looked over to where it had come from to see the lovely Maddie Fenton aiming an Ecto Bazooka at him and a smirking Danny peeking out from behind her.

"You leave my son alone!" Maddie shouted as she fired her Ecto Bazooka at him again.

Vlad dodged it this time and scowled before he disappeared with a whirl of his cape. Maddie let her gun drop to the ground and turned around to embrace her son in a tight hug.

"Oh, Danny, you're alright!" she said as a few tears slipped out of her eyes. "I was so worried about you!"

Danny frowned and then sighed as Maddie let go. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Maddie smiled as she ruffled his hair. "It's okay, sweetie. The doctor explained that the medication they gave you for your head injury must have had a strange side effect and that's why you ran off."–They started walking toward the Specter Speeder that was parked not far from where they had been standing.– "Oh, everyone has been so worried about you and you must be so tired."

Once they were inside the Specter Speeder and were on there way back to Amity Park, Danny asked his mother why she was in the Specter Speeder.

"Oh, I had to use it because your father was using the RV to look for you." she said and as an after thought added: "That and he said something about catching a group of ghost hotdogs and a pink chicken."

-----

Danny stared at the book given to him by Ivy. He had been staring at it for a few minutes. After he and his mother had gotten home, he was immediately given a hug by his father, sister, Sam, and Tucker. Then he had been asked a bunch of questions which his mother answered by saying that he was too tired to answer them and had sent him up to his room. It was true that Danny was tired, but he really wanted his questions answered and Ivy had said that this book would answer his questions. He made up his mind. He was going to open it and he did just that. He started reading it.

_A story like ours will never be told. It will never be remembered through the ages as other things are. We are avoided like the plague and despised like a sickness. We know not what love is for we have never been given any. We cannot live among the ghosts simply because we are different. This book is the record of everything we are._

Danny stared at the page for a few seconds before turning it and reading the next page.

_To everyone else, we are known as the Others and our world is called the Otherworld. We are different from other ghosts in that we keep our "scars" from when we died. In other words, if we were stabbed or hacked or shot when we died, our afterlife forms show the damage as if it had just happened. We are two people. Half of us are corpses and the other half are ghosts. We cannot be seen by humans, only ghosts. We have always lived in our sealed off world, but once, we could move freely between our world and the Ghost Zone. That, of course, was before the other ghosts grew jealous of us and had us all sealed up forever. Never to be released. About 368 B.C., there was a war between the other ghosts and us. We had the upper hand...for we were more powerful than they. They tried and tried but could never beat us. Not even there great king, Pariah Dark, could defeat us. Then, that's when five nameless ghosts appeared and sealed us up in our beautiful world. Never to be released. We have been here ever since. Hoping that one day we can seek our revenge on them, but that day will not come for many millennia. Until then, we wait. When the Seer is born and interacts with one of us, we will be released._

Danny turned the page. He was very interested in what this book said.

_To the Seer,_

_Should this book come into your possession, please use it how you will. You are who we've been waiting for...for so long. Do not let what others say stop you from using it and releasing us. All we want is to be free. The other ghosts denied us of that after the war ended. Is it so much to ask that we live among them and feel like we belong? Acceptance. That is all we want._

Below the message, there was the symbol that was on his necklace and the cover of the book drawn in a color that reminded Danny of blood. Now that he looked at the drawing, it kinda looked like the head, hands, and feet of a stick person. Below the drawing, was another message.

_Seer, should anyone get in your way or harm you, do this. Draw a circle on any surface with the color black and draw a stick person in the middle in the same color, but don't let the figure touch the circle. Have the figure resemble a star-like shape. Then, get a mental picture of the person who hurt you and write their first and last name above the circle. Now, if-_

Danny continued to read the rest of the page and onto the next few pages that were all filled with legends, the Others' mistreatment, and the spell for releasing the Others. He was gradually feeling sorry for these creatures and felt like he wanted to help them.

----

Vlad let out an irritated sigh as he landed in his private study and transformed back into his human form.

"Little brat." he said to himself. "If Maddie hadn't of been there, I would beat him then and there."

"You know, talking to yourself is a sign of insanity." a male voice suddenly said from behind him.

Vlad turned around ready to blast whoever spoke, but stopped when he saw an old ghost in blue carrying a staff floating behind him. This ghost posed no threat.

"Who are you?" Vlad asked. "And what are you doing in my private study?"

"My name is Clockwork." the ghost said as his form changed to look like a baby. "And I am the Master of Time."

Vlad blinked. He had heard of such a ghost but never really believed in its existence until now.

"The Master of Time, you say? Who do I owe this surprise?"

"Danny." Clockwork said simply.

Vlad frowned at the name. Darn brat was always causing some sort of trouble for him.

"Well, if it has anything to do with him, then it's not important. Nice talking to you."–he pointed toward his secret lab– "The ghost portal is that way."–he turned to leave– "Good-bye."

"Mr. Masters, this is important whether you choose to believe it or not." Clockwork said as his form changed into a young man.

Vlad stopped and turned around. He gave another irritated sigh.

"Fine. What is it?" he said as he crossed his arms.

"A recent incident involving Danny has set events into motion that will have disastrous results if we can't stop it." Clockwork began.

He waited for Vlad to say something and when nothing was said, he continued.

----

Danny stopped reading and closed the book. He had read enough to know that the Others were unfairly locked away. He recalled what Ivy had said about seeing her again.

"_Just say my name and I'll be there."_

He decided to call her. He closed his eyes and said her name. "Ivy."

When he opened them again, Ivy was sitting on his bed in front of him.

"You called?" she said. "You read it then?"

Danny nodded his head. "I want to help."

Ivy smiled. "I'm glad to here that, Seer."

----

"So, you want me to help him?" Vlad asked as Clockwork finished his explanation.

Clockwork nodded his head. "Yes. I do.

Vlad suddenly looked angry. "Why should I help him?" he snapped at Clockwork. "Daniel is perfectly capable of handling himself with some bothersome ghosts! Besides, he's never wanted my help before...why should I help him now!"

Clockwork glared at him. "Because he needs you more than you think he does! He needs help and I'm trying to give it to him!"

"Now why would he need me?" Vlad said as he turned his back to Clockwork. "What role could I possibly play in helping him?"

"These are no ordinary ghosts we're fighting, Mr. Masters. They were locked up centuries ago, but now that they have found the one with the Sight, they can finally be set free...if things keep going like they are."

"Sounds like Pariah Dark...sort of. In any case, Daniel will be fine. Shouldn't he be here helping you to convince me to help him?"

----

Danny blinked.

_You are who we've been waiting for...for so long._

"Why did you call me that?" he asked.

"Because that's what you are." she said. "You are the one we've been waiting for. The one with the Sight born on the human plane who has the power to see what others cannot. You can see my kind."

_Acceptance. That is all we want._

"I'm the one the book was talking about?" he asked.

"Yes, Danny."–she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer to her--"You are the one. You are special and have power that humans and ghosts can only dream of."–she stared into his eyes as hers seemed to glow for an instant as did Danny's necklace–"Help us, child."

_All we want is to be free._

Danny stared at her for a few minutes before his mind seemed to make itself up. He knew what he wanted to do now.

----

Clockwork stayed silent for a moment, but then said: "He can't help us."

Vlad blinked as he turned around to face Clockwork. "What do you mean?"

"Danny is on their side." he said sounding upset.

----

"Okay." Danny said to Ivy as she let go of his shoulders. "I'll help you and the rest of your kind."

Ivy's only response was a smile.

'_He belongs to us now.'_ she thought. _'And there is nothing any of you can do about it.'_

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Serena: Okay, Chapter 4 is done! So...was it informative? Any good? Meh. Review please and you'll get another chapter.


	5. Late Night Plans

Serena: Sorry for not updating sooner, but I've had a butt-load of school related stuff to do. I've had tests, quizzes, and an Literature report I needed to finish. Anyway, here's the next chapter! More reviews! - Thank you for all of your reviews! Now, time for the disclaimer!

Disclaimer Person: Did somebody say disclaimer!

Serena: o.0 Not again. Security!

Disclaimer Person: (is being dragged away by ghost guards) You can't keep sending me away forever!

Serena: I beg to differ. Anyway, here's a surprise, Sam! Will you do the disclaimer please?

Sam: No, sorry. Not in the mood.

Serena: Pretty please, Sam! With the black frosting, black licorice, black sprinkles, and those little gummy bats you like on top?

Sam: Oh, fine. Serena does not own Danny Phantom. She only owns the OCs and the plot to this story along with anything she might have made up.

Serena: Thank you, Sam. :) Now, I'll do the key. Here's the key!

"..." Talking

'...' Thinking in _Italics_

Danny: You can read the fic now!

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Title: Ivy

Chapter 5: Late Night Plans

By: Serena

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"So, what do we do first?" Danny asked his new found partner, Ivy.

"We wait." she answered simply.

Danny blinked. "Wait? For what?"

"Until the right moment arrives for us to be able to unlock the door without failing. It takes a while to open the door and it is guarded by a very dangerous wolf ghost that can tear anything it wants apart."

"Then, how do we get rid of it?"

"We don't."–she opened the book and flipped the pages until she finally stopped on one and pointed at a picture–"_They_ do."

Danny looked at the picture on the page that Ivy was pointing at. The picture was of a human skeleton. It had a few crakes in its bones and some of them were broken, but other than that, it looked like a regular human skeleton.

"A _skeleton_? I thought you said that the wolf ghost was very dangerous and could tear _anything_ it wants apart? Wouldn't using a skeleton to fight off a dangerous wolf ghost be a _bad_ idea?"

"Normally, yes. This is different, though. These skeletons are from my world and are stronger and more deadly than any other skeleton in existence."

Danny, who had been sitting on his knees this whole time, shifted until he was sitting with his legs crossed.

"How strong?" he asked.

Ivy smiled. "Strong enough to destroy a world power in less than a day without getting so much as a scratch."

Danny's eyes widened. "Wow, that's strong."

"Yeah, at least they would be able to."–Ivy's smile turned into a frown– "But they waste so much time killing and scaring people, that they can never get to destroying anything else. Bloody skeletons have a mind of there own. Oh, well. We're not overthrowing a world power. We're opening a door."

----

"So, what you're telling me is that Daniel has turned evil and has joined a race of evil beings from a place called the Otherworld?" Vlad asked Clockwork.

Clockwork sighed for the billionth time that day. "Danny hasn't turned evil, but he is on the Others' side."

"But if he isn't evil, then why is he on the evil side?"

"Because he feels that he should help them and he is under the influence of one of the Others."

Vlad blinked. "Under the influence? You mean mind control? And why would he feel that he should help them?"

Clockwork gave an irritated sigh. No matter how many times he explained this to Vlad, the bloody billionaire just wouldn't understand.

"Listen closely." Clockwork told Vlad. "Danny isn't evil and he isn't under mind control. His judgement is being influenced, but he is making his own decisions. I guess you can say that he is under mind control, but-"

"But I thought you said he wasn't? Why are you now telling that he is?" Vlad interrupted.

Clockwork slapped himself in the forehead with his hand.

'_I shouldn't have said that.'_ he thought.

----

Danny yawned. After everything that had happened today, one could definitely say that he was tired. He and Ivy had been going over their, or rather Ivy's, plans for how they would open the door up until 11:00 p.m. The plan was this: first, they would use a summoning spell to bring the skeletons out. They would then have the skeletons clear away anyone, both ghost and human, who posed a threat to them. Which, in this case, was everyone. Second, they would find the door to the Otherworld. Third, they would fulfill the necessary requirements to perform the unlocking spell. Fourth, they would perform the spell. Finally, the Others would be released and they would finally get their revenge on the ghosts. As simple as Ivy's plan was, she overlooked one minor detail. That minor detail was that Danny was tired and needed to rest or else there would be no door opening. She looked at Danny as he yawned again. She closed the book.

"We have our plan, but now you need to rest." she said as she gracefully got up from the bed and made Danny lie down. Danny looked up at her with his eyes half-lidded.

"Ivy?" he asked.

"What is it?" she asked as she covered him up with his blankets.

"The Others were sealed up in the Otherworld right?"

Ivy blinked as she sat back down on the edge of his bed. "Yes, they were."

"You're one of them right?"

"Yes, I am."

She didn't see where this was going.

"Then why aren't you with them?" he asked finally.

Ivy sighed as she frowned. "I hoped you'd never ask me that. You deserve to know, though. You're too tired to hear this. Call me when you wake up and I'll tell you then. Okay?"

Danny already had his eyes closed. "Okay. I will."

Ivy smiled sadly as she kissed him on the forehead, rose from the bed, and gracefully disappeared.

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Serena: I know it's short, but maybe you liked it anyway? Hn. Please review and forgive me for being so late with this update but like I explained up top, school got in my way.


	6. Deadly Visions

Serena: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Sorry this update took so long! And, judging by how little reviews I got, the last chapter sucked! What can I say? I'm not the best story writer in the world. I'll try to be a better writer in the near future. I promise. Anyway, here's the next chapter...and, hopefully, it's a whole lot better than the last chapter. I'm going to skip the key...since you should all know it by now. Here's the disclaimer. Oh and before I forget...

**GORE ALERT!**

Disclaimer: How many times must we do this? I don't own Danny Phantom and I never will.

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Title: Ivy

Chapter 6: Deadly Visions

By: Serena

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Danny's eyes opened to see the foggy sky above him. For some reason, it seemed closer than normal. He ignored it for the time being and tried to sit up only to realize that he was floating. He fixed himself into a, what would have been, standing position. He didn't know how he was floating. He didn't remember changing into his ghost form.

'_Where am I and when did I change into my ghost form?'_ he thought.–he looks down and realizes that he is, in fact, _not_ in his ghost form–_'Okay...I'm not in my ghost form. Then...how am I floating?'_

Danny took in his surroundings. The entire area was deathly silent. The sky was barely visible for it was blocked by a dense fog. He could see some mountains in the distance, but nothing else...and then he looked down. He gasped. Below him was a sea of what looked like blood.

"W-What the-? W-What is tha-? I-Is th-that blood?"

Drip.

'_What was that sound?'_

Blood red water dripped down from snow white hair.

Danny saw a figure wading through the sea of red. _'Who is that?'_

Drip.

Acidic green eyes stared at the scene before them.

Danny's eyes widened as the figures eyes glanced in his direction. _'That's not possible..'_

Drip.

The figure, now seen as a young male, looked at Danny and smirked as his eyes shone with mixed emotions for a fraction of a second before his face returned to its blank look and he resumed staring straight ahead.

'_M-My ghost half?'_

A choked gasp for air.

Danny turned his head in the direction the choked gasp came from...

...and started crying.

Phantom continues to wade through the water as the bloody figure of a woman stares up at him.

The woman was Maddie Fenton...

...she had her throat slit and blood was gushing out from the wound.

"M-Mom!"

"Why?" she asked Phantom.–she took one last choked breath of air–"Why?"

She died.

Danny started crying harder when he realized that she was dead. "M-Mom...no...what...why?"

Another female figure saw Phantom wade through the water.

The figure was Samantha Manson...commonly known as Sam...

...she was being crushed by a large boulder that had fallen on top of her.

"S-Sam? No...no...Sam."

She outstretched her left arm to him as it was the only thing besides her head that she could move.

She was having a hard time breathing.

"Why did you"–she inhaled with difficulty–"do it?" she asked him.

Phantom didn't answer her, but only passed her by as she let her arm drop and took one last breathe as her violet eyes closed forever.

At this point, Danny had his hands on both sides of his head and was shaking his head as tears continued to stream down his face. "No! This isn't real!"

Phantom continued wading through the water until he finally stops in front of a ghostly figure dressed in blue.

Beside him lay a broken staff...the top of which resembled a clock.

It was the Master of Time, Clockwork...

...with a large metal spear impaled in his chest.

"Clockwork?"

Clockwork stared up at Phantom and, with some difficultly, he spoke.

"You've made...your...decision." he told Phantom. "The world...has been...sentenced to...damnation."

Danny stared at Phantom and shouted at him. "What did you do!"

Phantom didn't move or even try to speak.

Danny let his arms fall to his sides. '_Or...is it...what did I do?'_

He just listened.

Clockwork spoke again.

"Even I...did not see foresee...this." he continued to tell Phantom. "I suppose...that this was...meant to be...or it would not have...happened."

Phantom remained silent as he clasped the spear with both his hands.

'_What is he doing?'_

Clockwork laughed bitterly.

"You promised that...you would never...become him...and you didn't." he said.

And just before Phantom ripped the spear out of him, Clockwork said his final words.

"You became worse."

"NO!"

And then world went black.

----

Danny awoke abruptly and sat straight up in his bed panting like he had just run a marathon. His eyes darted around his room as he tried to figure out where he was. He soon realized that he was in his room, but he was very confused.

'_Was that a dream?'_ he thought. _'It didn't feel like one.'_

He looked at his clock. It read 5:49 p.m.

'_Maybe it was another one of those visions that Ivy told me about.'_

He hugged his knees to his chest. That dream...or whatever it was...had really shaken him up. His mother, Sam, and Clockwork all dying...the foggy sky...the sea of red...but most of all, his ghost half. "Phantom" as Danny had started calling him when he was referring to just his ghost half. Phantom had seen him. Danny was sure of that, but he was the only one. His mother, Sam, and Clockwork didn't even seem to notice him at all. Only Phantom. But why? Why just him? And what was up with that look that Phantom had given him? Danny shuddered as he remembered that look. It was almost...the look was...well, he didn't know what to call it. It seemed like so many emotions had flashed through those acidic eyes in that fraction of a second, but one had stood out. Obsession. Danny didn't know what to make of it. The look just seemed...obsessive...and he wasn't sure why. He sighed.

'_Maybe I should tell Ivy.'_ he thought, but after thinking on it some more, he decided against it. _'No. I shouldn't tell her. It would just worry her and she already has enough on her mind without me adding to it. Speaking of which...'_

"Ivy!"

As soon as the words passed his lips, Ivy appeared before him. She smiled at him.

"You called?"

Danny nodded his head. "Yeah. I...kinda...woke up early and I was wondering if you would tell me why you aren't with the rest of the Others? If it's okay."

Ivy smile faded somewhat. "Of course. I...did say that I would explain that after all."

She glided over to sit in front of him on the bed.

"Well, I suppose that I should start from the beginning." she said.

"What's the beginning?" Danny asked.

"The war between the Ghost Zone and the Otherworld." Ivy stated as she waited for Danny to say something else and when he didn't, she continued. "As you know, around 368 B.C., a war broke out between the ghosts of the Ghost Zone and my kind, and, in truth, the reason the war happened isn't clear, but what we do know is that some of the ghosts grew jealous of us and began to spread false rumors about us to turn the rest of the ghosts against us. At first, they just ignored us and generally didn't associate with us, but after awhile, their king, Pariah Dark, declared war and launched an attack. We weren't prepared for it. We were slaughtered. The ghosts didn't spare anyone. They killed woman, children, men, and even animals. To be completely honest, the whole attack is a blur, but we do know what happened. Afterward, Pariah Dark called the ghosts back after confirming that we were all destroyed. Thus, the war, as Pariah Dark said, ended that day. They closed the door to our world and forgot about us."

Danny stared at Ivy in confusion. "But if you all died and the war ended, then why did the book say what it said? And why are you still here?"

Ivy gave a creepy little smile. "Because Pariah Dark was wrong. He failed. The war didn't end that day...it just started."

Danny remained silent and nodded his head to urge Ivy to continue and she did.

"Truth be told, the war would have ended had it not been for our...awakening."

Danny blinked. "Awakening?"

"Yes. That's what _he_ called it anyway."

"_He_? You mean someone helped you? Was it a ghost? Who was he?"

Ivy stared at Danny for a few moments before she smiled her creepy smile once again. "Yes, someone helped us. It was really unexpected. You know him, actually."

Danny's eyes widened. "I know him? Who is it?"

Ivy just smiled. "You'll find out eventually. Anyway, after our awakening, we could tell something was different about us. We were stronger in many ways. To make a long story short, he gave us the power we needed to defeat the ghosts...if only those nameless ghosts hadn't of shown up, we would have won the war. These ghosts used their power to throw us back into our world and sealed off the door connecting our world and the Ghost Zone. And that, Danny, is when the war truly ended."

"Well, that explains a lot...but not why you're here and not sealed up in the Otherworld."

Ivy sighed. "Yes, well, I was supposed to sneak into Pariah Dark's castle, along with some back-up, and eliminate him...but that blasted king somehow found out about it and set a trap for us. We were captured, but managed to break free and we fought with the king and many of his followers, but during the battle, our powers struck with the ghost king's powers and it somehow opened a portal between the Ghost Zone and the human world. I was sucked into it. That's why I'm here and not with the rest of my kind."

Danny was silent for a while as he allowed everything Ivy had just told him to sink in. It made sense and he didn't think Ivy was lying to him. Why would she?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Serena: Okay, I decided to stop there because I haven't updated in a while and you all probably hate for it by now. Anyway, I probably won't be able to update again for a while and I have an excuse this time! **THIS IS IMPORTANT!** I'm going to Florida for a week starting June 10. Since I doubt I'll get another chapter posted before then, I'm telling you all now.


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